Telescopic hydraulic shock-absorber



July 30, 1957 F. s. ALLINQUANT 2,800,931

TELESCOPIC HYDRAULIC sHoCK-ABsoRBER Filed April 8, 1955 2 sheets-snee#b 1 July 30, 1957 F. s. ALLlNQUANT 2,800,931

TELESCOPIC HYDRAULIC SHOCK-ABSORBER Filed April e, 1955 Y zvsneetS-sheet 2 United States arent TELESCOPIC HYDRAUMC SHGCK-ABSORBER Fernand Stanislas Allinqnant, Paris, France Application April 3, 1955, Serial No. 500,256

Claims priority, appiication France April 16, 1954 S Claims. (Cl. 18S-88) It is a well known fact that in telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers the damping is produced by the resistance opposed to the flow of oil by passageways cut through the piston. If said passageways have a constant cross-sectional area, the resistance increases in proportion with the speed of iiow as shown by the laws of hydraulics; it is considerable in thecase of a sudden shifting of the pistonj When the shock absorber is used in cooperation with an automobile spring suspension, said resistance which becomes too considerable during such sudden movements causes the suspension to be devoid of yieldingness at the moment of a shock.

To cut out this drawback, it has been proposed to provide a passage of variable cross-sectional area through the piston. In a prior known arrangement, the piston is constituted by a hollow body inside which an axially sliding member carries an outer ange so as to be held normally between two springs acting in opposite directions in a substantially stable position for which the outer ange on the sliding member registers with another, inner ange rigid with the piston body so as to denne therewith an annular passageway of a predetermined restricted area. During the normal movements of the spring suspension, the value of the damping is deiined by the resistance of said normal annular passageway. In contradistinction and in the case of a shock when the excess pressure built up in the oil opposes the movement of the piston, the movable flange assumes a relative movement in the opposite direction, which increases the cross-sectional area of the passageway and reduces the resistance against the flow of oil at a high speed. The movements due to somewhat considerable shocks are thus damped to a comparatively smaller extent during that portion of the stroke in which the piston moves at a high speed than when nearing the ends of the travel of the piston at which moments the speed of the piston is reduced, assuming the flange has then returned into its normal position. Nothing prevents therefore the spring suspension from executing movements of a considerable amplitude in the case of Yan important shock while the suspension retains its full elasticity.

This theoretical manner of operating may however be disturbed by the delay of the ange when returning into its normal position. if said ilange has not yet reached said normal position at a moment at which the direction of movement of the piston has already been reversed, the pressure produced in the oil and opposing this reversed direction of movement of the piston will urge said flange into said normal position; in other words, it will cause the cross-sectional area of the passageway to pass tirst through a minimum value before it assumes the value corresponding to the speed of the piston. The damping instead of being reduced during the high speed movement of the piston would pass thus tirst through a peak value which would disturb the uniformity of the oscillations of the suspension which would thus be submitted to jerks. Now, my present invention has for its chief object to cut out this drawback.

According to 1an essential feature of my invention, there is provided a restricted annular passageway through the piston between two movable coaxial flanges which are submitted on their opposite surfaces to the pressures prevailing on the cor-responding sides of the piston and which are elastically stabilized and held against stops facing opposite directions so that `said flanges occupy positions in which they register with each other and out of which they may move in opposite directions so as to produce through their relative shifting an increase in the cross-sectional area of said annular passageway between them. Thus if, during a rapid movement of the piston in one direction, the pressure arising in the body of oil and opposing the movement of the piston has shifted one oi the anges away from its :stop-engaging position, the pressure exerted in the opposite direction on the two anges, when the movement of the piston is reversed before the first mentioned liange has returned into its normal position, may produce a shifting of the second flange which allows the passageway to retain a cross-sectional area which is larger than normal While the iirst mentioned ange is returning to its inoperative position. Consequently, in the case of a rapid movement, if the shifted ange has not returned into its inoperative position before the piston has reached the end of its stroke, this has merely as a result a lesser damping of the movement of the piston at the end of its stroke. However, the reduction of the damping during the part of the stroke corresponding to a higher speed movement is always ensured by the relative movement of the two flanges so that the desired elasticity of the suspension is permanently retained.

I will now describe a number of embodiments of the invention, reference being made to accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an axial cross-section of a portion of the cylinder of a telescopic hydraulic shock absorber, containing a piston according to a iirst embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View in a plane defined by the section line II-II.

Fig. 3 is an axial cross-section through a'piston according to a second embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a corresponding plan View.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 3, of a modiiication.

Turning rst to Figs. 1 and 2, the cylinder of the shock absorber is shown at 1 and only that portion thereof is illustrated, which registers with the location of the piston at a predetermined moment. The piston rod 2 has its section 3 cut from the bar to a smaller diameter, starting from a shoulder 4 and up to the threaded terminal section 5 having a still smaller diameter beyond the shoulder 6 and extending above this section 3 cut from the bar. The piston head lsecured to said small diameter section 3 of the piston rod includes two parts assembled together. One of saidV parts 7 is cup-shaped; it is tted over the smooth section 3 of the piston rod 2 and bears against the shoulder 4. It is provided with perforations 8 and carries an inner central tubular boss 9 tted on the rod section 3. The other part of the piston head 10 has an outer cylindrical surface 11 the diameter of which corresponds with that of the cylinder bore with a slight clearance therebetween, of a predetermined value. This second part of the piston head is annularly bored at 12, the bottom of the bore carrying an annular projection 13 and being providedwith an annular series of perforations 14 and with a central tapped opening 15. Said second part of the piston head is itted over the cooperating edge .of the cup-shaped part 7 through the groove 16 formed annularly in said second part of the piston a 3 head 10 and the tapped opening in said second part is screwed over the terminal threaded section 5 of the piston rod until said second part engages the shoulder 6 after which said-second part isinally heldfasty inpositioniby riveting the threaded terminal rodV section 15 atf17 over thepistorgheadp- In the recess formed in the VVpiston headbetweenthe two 'par-ts thereof, which recess communicateswiththe oil inV the ncylinder to either side of the piston through the perforations 8 and 14'respectively,; are housed twoaxially sliding members.- -One ofithese members is constituted by a sleeve 13 slidablyV carried by the rod section 3 and rigid with an outer ange-19gthe other sliding member is box-shaped;,its outer cylindrical'wall 20 slidesinside the bore 12 in the piston head-rand is rigid withy an inner annular ilange 21 the diameter of the opening in which is larger than the diameter offthey flange'19; said :box-shaped member includes further a cover 22 at the end opposed to the flange V21, which cover is fitted over the rod section 3 and is provided with. an annular series /of^perforations.23.

Between Ythe two sliding membersis Vmounted a spring 24 urging them apart, the first memberfbeing urged by said spring into a position in which the flange 19engages the s'top'formed by the annularprojection 13 while thesecondV sliding memberY is urged into Vabutment through its cover" arrow F, the ange 19 is shifted inside the piston head in a direction opposed to said arrow by the excess pressure in the space 26 and hasV not returned yet into its abutment position at the moment at which the piston is already moving against the arrow F during its return stroke whereby the pressure in the space 27 is now the dominant pressure. The resulting thrust exerted on the member rigid with the flange 19 .will add its action to the returning action Vofthe spring in the direction of thearrow F,rv but if the speed of the piston is'already high` enough to make a reduction in the damping value desirable, the resulting thrust exerted on the other sliding member carrying the ange 21 will shift simultaneously the last-mentioned flange in the direction of the arrow F and consequently the return of the iiange 19 into its abutment position does not prevent the annular passageway from widening at the same time by reason of the relative movement of the flange 21. e Y 'Y Y t Obviously, Ya symmetrical sequence of relative movef ments may be produced when` the piston nishes a return stroke and initiatesV a compressionstroke".Y In short, the relativeY positions of the flanges depend at every moment only on the difference between the pressuresjprevailing in the .spaces26 and 27 to e i th er sideofthe-pistonwithout their positions with reference toA the 'allal ,piston head interfering whereby the duration of their movements has f n n-longer anyinfluence onfthe accurate operation ofthe arrangement.

of theperforations 14 and on the other hand of the pert includes aasinglereturn spring for the'twosliding members forations 23and 8. The surfaces of the two anges facing opposite directions are submitted to the pressure prevailing in the said spaces, respectively 26 and 27. -It is apparent that the two anges 19 and 21 mayl move away from their normalvabutment positions in opposite directionsV while compressing the spring 24, whereby the length of the Vannular passageway is first gradually reduced and'its breadth is subsequently increased. Bevelled surfaces 28V and 29 formed on one side of one ilange and on the oppio-, site side of the other flange reducethe length of' travel required for producing a wideningv of the 4cross#sectio'nal area of this passageway.v

During operation, the flanges register'withY eachother in their normal coplanar position as longas the difference between the pressures Vin the spaces 26 and 27,"exerted on the corresponding slidingmembers rigid with said anges, does not produce a thrust Ythe directionjof which is opposed to and which has Va valueab'ove that-ofthe thrust exerted Vby the spring' 24.V This oceursgwhen the piston moves slowly; the flanges occupy then their normal abutment positions .and the damping correspondsto the resistance opposing the flowas provided bythe annular sliding against Vthe spring 24 to become dominant. Said member moves then until it reaches a position of equilibrium so as toreduce the relative value ofthe damping and then, when the'pressure considered Vhas been reduced while the pistonslow's down Aas. it nears'theend of: itsV stroke, the .shifted member may return info its normal position so asV to restore the damping toitsnormal Yvalue.

However, theV piston may reachthe end of itsA forward stroke before the shifted `ange has returned intoits actual normal position. In this caseyit is still far from this positionjwhen the piston; has Yinitiated'its travel inthe opposite direction andfthe dominant 'pressure isV that prevailing'in the space facing theothermember. Perrinstance, during the/stroke considered as..'a"cornpression stroke and the direction of which is illustrated by thev It Vis possible to providea differencebetween the action of the pressuresproducing a'widening ofjthe passageway, accordingY as lto'whether the'pistonis executing a compression 'stroke or raareturn strokealthough the arrangement provided each with ailange. f To this end, ,it is sufficient to selectrditerent areas for thesurfacesonwhich theipres-r flange-movingduring the compression stroke so that the opening may beyexecuted more easily during said compression stroke thanv` during the return stroke.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. v3,'theheadof the piston is constituted by the two sliding members themselvesin other words, the outer diameter of'the cylindrical section 20 of thel box-shaped'member is equal to that of the cylinder bore minus'the allowance for'thedesired clearance. Said box-shaped member slides in thiscase'as precedingly over'the small Adiametersection of the piston rod and itsV coverr22 includes a tubular .central bore 30 slidingly ttted over said section 3.V The stop'for said member is constituted bythe shoulder 4 while the other member 18-19 is adapted to abut against a Vnut 31 screwed over the; threaded terminal section Son the piston rod, said nut being held fast on theA saidterminal section through riveting.A Y

The operation is the same as'that described'precedngly with referenceto the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1;V

' members may be reversed-in other words the 'member sumes an excess value as a consequence'of a violent Y shock which starts the suspension operating and initiates a compression stroke for the piston.

In all the precedingly described embodiments, the stress of the common spring returning the two flanges into their inoperative positions may be adjusted by fitting washers, such as the washer 34 shown in Fig. 5, underneath one of the ends of the spring 24.

What I claim is:

1. A shock absorber comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, said piston comprising a piston rod, means on said rod providing axially spaced abutments, and a piston head comprising a cylindrical box-shaped member slidable axially of said rod and having an apertured cover at one end and an inwardly ydirected ange at the opposite end, a second axially slidable member having a cylindrical collar portion slidable on said rod and an outwardly directed ange of slightiy smaller diameter than said inwardly directed ange, said members being engageable respectively with said abutments and said abutments being so positioned that said flanges are adjacent one another to form a restricted passageway between them, and spring means between said members resiliently retaining said members on their respective abutments, said members being movable by fluid pressure in opposite directions respectively against said spring means to provide a larger opening between said flanges.

2. A shock absorber according to claim l, in which said spring means is a single helical compression spring around said rod and acting at its opposite ends on said members.

3. A shock absorber according to claim 1, in which said members have different cross sectional areas subjected to uid pressure generated in said cylinder by relative movement of said piston and cylinder.

4. A shock absorber comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, said piston comprising a piston rod; two cup-shaped parts assembled facing one another and clamped on said rod coaxial therewith, said cup-shaped parts having apertured bottoms and forming a hollow piston head with a cylindrical bore, a boxshaped member having a lateral wall sliding within said bore and formed at one end with an apertured cover normally abutting one of said bottoms and at the opposite end with an inwardly-directed iange, a second member sliding on said rod inside said box-shaped member and having an outwardly directed ange normally abutting the other of said bottoms and disposed inside said inwardly directed ange with a restricted space between said flanges and spring means between said members resiliently holding said members in abutment respectively with said bottoms, said members being movable by uid pressure in opposite directions respectively against said spring means to provide a larger opening between said anges.

5. A shock absorber comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, said piston comprising a piston rod, means on said rod providing axially spaced abutments and a piston head on said rod, said head comprising a cylindrical box-shaped member slidable on said rod, and engaged with one of said abutments, said member having a lateral wall sliding within said cylinder, an apertured cover at one end and an inwardly directed r'iange at the opposite end, a second member slidable on said rod and engageable with the other of said abutments, said second member being formed with an outwardly directed flange which is disposed inside said inwardly directed flange with a restricted space between said flanges when said members are in engagement respectively with said abutments, and spring means between said members resiliently retaining said members against their respective abutments, said members being movable by fluid pressure in opposite directions respectively against said spring means to provide a larger opening between said flanges.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,060,590 Padgett Nov. l0, 1936 2,538,375 Montgomery Jan. 16, 1951 FOREGN PATENTS 1,034,713 France Apr. 15, 1953 1,064,843 France Dec. 30, 1953 

